Yulmiath starts pitching the other tents, chuckling as he does so.

"Hun applies his talents elsewhere.  This is more my speed anyway."

Looking up from his work, he can see that the geonid welcome wagon is back and bothering Krodhen.  While he has no doubts that the half-orc can handle himself, experience from a lifetime of scraps and bar brawls tells the dragonborn that another threatening presence over there might not be the worst thing, especially if it reminds the little rock folk that they have already extracted their price of this group.  Pushing himself up from his knees, he takes his greataxe in hand and saunters over, calling out on his way.

"Krodhen! Little rocky beggars back again?"

(OOC - Will leave it to Lerus as to how far through erecting the tents that Yulmiath gets before he catches sight of Krodhen.  He did roll pretty well before...)

"Aha, a trap!" Kairus pondered for a few moments if the giant spider had ears, but for the lack of some obvious orifices, simply talked to the face of the Rhogal's new shape. He was talking quietly and, obviously, in Common, hoping if the boulders around are listening, they will take it for the wind sounds. "And where is a trap - there is a treasure! Not to mention, our statuette could fit easily through that crack. I can try to disarm the trap with Grandpa's instrument - it's like he knew we will need it! Want to head back and return as something smaller to crawl inside? I might try the trick but it would be just smaller me and fully visible... Not the best camouflage."

He was bursting with the energy and ready to try and squeeze into an impossibly narrow opening himself but stopped as another idea came to his mind. "Or we can just return and do all of this in the morning properly. I mean, the invisible Grandpa would not even need to turn into something to get inside, disarm the thing and check for the statuette! I"ll talk to them, don't move!"

With that, he darted back to the camp, trying not to step on the most suspicious rocks, and - still invisible - went straight to Hun. "Psst! It's me. There is something in the cave!" The details along with the suggestion were retold to the kobold to pass around.

At the exact moment Yulmiath mentioned 'applies his talents', Hun had licked one of the stones he found and seemed to mull over the taste, before then shrugging and rolling it away. As fully immersed in his work as he'd become, there was no ignoring Yulmiath's calling and drawing attention to the potential geonid fiasco. "What do those blasted gold diggers want now?" He muttered as he strapped on his shield but refrained from getting any closer to things. Rather he hisses out some word in draconic, spurring a watchful Mr. Thicc to join his side while he monitered the situation.

Startled not too long after by Kairus return, Hun quickly recovered and rubbed at his neck in deep thought. "Uh, mn... Good work as well, Young Blue. Best we wait till morning tho' to commit to anything, just in case we need to beat a hasty retreat to the waters. More importantly, think you can do somethin' about our visitors over yonder." He gestures to the activity further downhill.

Should others refuse to investigate the cave, Kairus might have just returned and done it himself, but Hun agreed to the cautious approach, and it was good enough. "I'll call back Rhogal," gave Kairus an invisible nod and was about to run back to the cave when bits of information about the visitors properly sunk in. "Visitors? Again? Agh..." He was torn between releasing Rhogal from his cave watch and talking to the boulders, finally choosing a compromise - creating enough noise for the druid to come himself. He did visit his tent on the way - there was no need to inform the rocks about invisibility, and came out of there all visible self to join the crowd. While approaching, he sent a sharp piercing smuggler's whistle towards the cave. Even if Rhogal was not familiar with the signal, its obvious artificial nature had to attract spider's attention and draw him out of the cave. Or so Kairus hoped.

"So, what seemed to be the problem?" He repeated the phrase first in Common then in Primordial.

Rhogal hears a sharp tone from the entrance. Wondering if something is wrong, he decides to be sneaky, relying on his slender spidery form, along the ceiling, towards the sound.

Stealth: 10

After putting the tents up, Yulmiath catches a glimpse of the rocky visitors once again and heads toward Krodhen in an attempt to bolster the number of Snackers in the conversation. Upon arrival, the dragonborn is reminded that the two groups can really only communicate verbally with Kairus' help. Nonetheless, he sees the geonids produce three large eggs, point at them, then point at Krodhen's shield, and then repeat the motion ad nauseam.

Meanwhile, Hun remains at camp with Mr. Thicc until his tinkering is suddenly interrupted by the disembodied voice of the party's bard. Hun and Kairus agree on investigating the cave trap in the morning and then turn their attention to the more immediate issue. The bard resumes his visible form inside a tent and heads toward his dragonborn and half-orc companions. Kairus' whistle catches not only Rhogal's attention, but also the geonids'. They seem to assume the triton was just announcing his arrival, which they welcome because the conversation can finally advance. Kairus is soon able to inform the group that the geonids have returned with a trade offer. They are offering three cooked dinosaurs eggs in exchange for Krodhen's shield. 

Rhogal emerges from the cave but is unable to do so stealthy. His form is simply too big and scary to go unnoticed. The geoninds all assume a more defensive formation, but are still interest in the proposed trade.

Yulmiath pats his stomach, a few eggs might not go a miss, especially around dinner time, but glancing down at his own greataxe, he doubts he would agree to that trade if it were offered to him.

Little boulders were surprisingly good at pantomiming. Involuntarily Kairus even imagined a group of these rocks performing in the taverns - would be a smash hit! The triton shook his head, getting rid of the scene in his brain, and also looked at Krodhen. Not that he expected the offer to be accepted, just wandering if the warrior understood. To clarify completely, he translated it too.

Krodhen had been initially reluctant to even trade coin with the geonids. No one in the party would expect him to entertain this trade. Whether he was shocked at the rocklings' audacity or disbelieved Kairus' translation, the paladin responds with only silence for now.

The geonids look at Kairus and then at Krodhen. Their eyes dart between the two of them for a bit, with the sporadic glance being shot at the giant spider in the background. Eventually, the awkward silence is too much for them to take, so they try to pivot into a slightly different trade. Kairus comes to understand the alternate offer as "Perhaps the other one in heavy armor is willing to trade." They point at Mr. Thicc in the distance, and then back at the cooked eggs.

Kairus did his best to look scary at the sight of the spider, but as geonids did not get agitated, noted almost casually. "Seems like your caves have been infested with insects. Anything else scary in there?" He did not press the issue, just felt the need to react.

"Highly doubt about trading for the armour," honestly answered he the question from the rocks, "You see, the things that we are wearing we need. But sure, let's ask the one in heavy armour." If anything, the dialogue with the construct had to be entertaining.

In common, Yulmiath dips into the conversation too, "Ah, isn't Mr. Thicc made of metal? So if they ate him, is that cannibalism?"

The big dragonborn ponders things a little longer, the Snack Pack didn't spend too long debating whether or not to tuck into those Eblis. On that basis, he's not sure whether they can cast any stones lest they be deafened by the sounds of their glass house shattering around them.

Shrugging, he comes to his own rationalisation, "Guess it's ok if Mr. Thicc agrees? Right?"

If presumably within earshot of commentary, as Hun is want to be, if only just, the Kobold could be seen grinding his teeth and stiffly shaking his head no. Mr. Thicc just looks between kobold creator and the rest of the party a couple of times before mirroring the motion.

"Cannibalism or not -- which it would not be begin with for gond's sake as they are not the even the same species... or thing! In fact, that's like wondering if you eating a brick from a house is consider cannibalism. Or us eating those dumbass Eblis. Certainly one of those things would be the height of stupidity, and the other is at best a morally grey issue for those with a misplaced sense of... well, morals and standards!" He explained, sounding a touch heated towards the end.

"Which is another thing that makes me shake my head sometimes. 'cause like, if a dragon eats a human, people get upset of course, but their rarely go 'that's not right! They are a person!' But if an Orc or a starving Kobold finds a dead human and gets caught having a nibble, and then suddenly we're monsters! But it's okay to fookin wear the skins of superior beings that are dragons or--" And he just continues off into a tirade that's a mix of common, draconic, and a few other languages while stomping around and waving his hands in the air.

Kairus doubts the trade is going to advance and, perhaps in an attempt to increase the group's bargaining power, is sure to point out the giant spider crawling out of the nearby cave. It tried to sneak out, but its frame was too large to slip by unnoticed. The geonids had indeed noticed, and those in the back-line of their little ensemble have most certainly kept their eyes on the large animal. That said, the spider simply looks like it is minding its own business for now. When Kairus mentions the cave, one geonid is sure to say: "That cave is not ours."

Yulmiath is just as unsure about the merits of the trade offer. He lets his thoughts about potential cannibalism slip out of his mouth and Hun hears them. The kobold is triggered and goes on a rumbling tangent about flesh-eating, spoils of war, morals, and whatnot.

It falls to Kairus to bring things back down to reality. The bard escorts the geonids back to camp where he translates the offer put on the proverbial table. Mr. Thicc and Hun are asked if they are willing to trade some of the construct's armor for three large cooked dinosaur eggs. 

(OOC: I am assuming the shaking of the head was in response to the cannibalism comment, and not necessarily a response to the trade offer.)

Retrospectively.....

Once it becomes clear that the rock creatures are wanting his shield Krodhen makes it very clear to the others to convey the message "The only way they are getting my things are from my dead body!" and steps back away from the creatures to let Kairus take over, and will stay on his feet once the group returns back to the camp, moving away as Mr Thicc is brought front and centre instead.

Hearing the geonids not claiming ownership of the cave, Rhogal backs into the cave, out of sight of anyone. He goes to the floor and changes his shape into a normal-sized spider and creeps out of the cave and and goes under a rock somewhere vaguely near the conversation and waits until the negotiation ends.

Krodhen and Hun more than confirm what others had already known: there will be no trading of metal armor, equipment, or plating for dinosaur eggs, and perhaps for nothing else the geonids can offer. The geonids ore nothing if not insistent, though, giving plenty of time for Rhogal to Wildshape himself into a regular spider, sneak closer to the group, and catch the tail end of the failed negotiations.

Disillusioned, the geonids "pack up" and turn to leave. They take a different route than the one they used to approach, supposedly so they can avoid the entrance of the cave and the giant spider who has apparently claimed it.

-> Those with passive perception greater than 14 notice the spider approaching the camp.

Assuming the plan that Hun and Kairus had devised remains unchanged, Eeyal invites everyone over for supper once things have died out. The group can then begin their Long Rest with the intention of exploring the cave/crack/trap the next morning.

(OOC: If the next step is indeed a Long Rest, go ahead and roll perception checks for the watches and describe what you do overnight. If instead the group wants to take advantage of Rhogal's new form and go exploring the crack on the cave wall now, let me know.)

The geonids heading back to their camp prompts Yulmiath to do the same.  Sat, sharing his supper with the rest of the Snack Pack he asks Karius and Rhogal what they discovered in the cave.  Finally noticing that their dwarven druid is nowhere to be seen, Yulmiath becomes slightly agitated and asks the rest of the group, "Where's the one obsessed with mushrooms? Did he get left in the cave?"

(OOC - I've assumed that our casters might appreciate the long rest before heading into the cave system, although Yully doesn't have a great track record on watch.  He'll take whatever watch no-one else wants. Here goes nothing... Perception - 21.)

Kairus night watch Perception: 23

By the time Hun has finally finished ranting, the "disappearance" of the geonid earns the area they'd been in a wary once over. But in seeing the others entering at least relatively relaxed states, the Kobold calms with a bit of grumbling and a few terse words to Mr. Thicc to be extra attentive that eve.

"... Ah shoot! I forgot to have told to them... bah! Doesn't matter. There's always next time." He comments and waves a hand dismissively, only to stop mid-motion at Yulmiath's questions. "Hm? Ah, peh! He'll be fine. Just make sure you. Let's dig in." And with that, the kobold at least is happy to while away the next half our or so on dinner before digging another burrow(with some assistance from Mr. Thicc), and find his rest knowing the construct would be on watch once it finished some auto-repairs. (aka spending a use of Repair feature)

Mr. Thicc's Watchception: 5. 

Seeing the geonids leave and how the rest of the Snack Pack looks to be done for the day, Rhogal returns to his normal, dwarven form - forgetting he was still under a rock.

"GAH! Feckin' hell that was stupid...!" He rubs his head as he chastises himself. "Well, I don't think that cave'll or its crack be going anywhere. Barring any random cave-ins, Moradin willin'."

Perception: 18